Commercial car wash operations often include optional extra cost features such as undercarriage wash, rust inhibitor application and tire dressing application. One known method of tire dressing application comprises an elongate pad of foam plastic which can be saturated with tire dressing by means of internal nozzles and brought into a position where the outer surface of the pad engages the sidewall of the tires of a vehicle which is rolling past the applicator on a conveyor. This applicator is shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,936,104, 6,461,685 and 6,461,429. A similar applicator, shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,260,226, uses rotating brushes made of tightly bunched radian strands of absorbent material. Water and dressing are sprayed into the brushes in sequence.